How to Drive Safely Despite Bad Weather

Bad weather can be troublesome for any driver. The poor visibility conditions and environmental issues put any vehicle at risk. Most of the accidents take place in the night time or under adverse weather conditions such as rain, storm or unexpected snow. However, if you take a few precautions, you can drive safely and reach your destination despite any weather.

However, if you take a few precautions, you can drive safely and reach your destination despite any weather.

Tips to Drive Safely

  1. Always get your car prepped for bad weather. Look for the tire replacements if cracks in rubber appear. Also, if you live in a location where it snows frequently, invest in good quality winter blades. They help to make your drive smooth by shedding the ice.
  2. If you are driving on the snowy roads, drive your vehicle at minimum speed possible. Even if your vehicle has four-wheel drive, cut back your speed limit by 10 miles per hour than the speed limit to ensure your safety.
  3. Avoid braking at any turn while driving on the icy roads. It can be incredibly dangerous. Apply the brakes lightly through the curve. Keep in mind not to gain speed while doing it. Keep your foot off the brake while turning so that you do not lose control of the car and wheels do not stop turning at any moment. Most of the mishaps occur due to strong braking on icy roads that let the car lose momentum and go in any direction recklessly.
  4. If accidentally, you feel the car is skidding, try to remain calm. Simply turn the steering wheel to the opposite side of the skidding car and it will help cancel out the car’s skid. The car will automatically align straight.
  5. Rainy weather can be really unfortunate while driving. If you are driving through rain flooded area,avoid driving through the areas that look like deep pits filled with water. This can get really scary as the water might go into the air-intake valve and from there to the engine that will consequently shut the engine off.
  6. Invest in a good quality windshield if you live in an area that receives frequent rainfall. The better the quality of your windshield, the better will be the visibility in the rain. There are rain repellents which can be applied on the windshield to prevent rain from beading up on it and hence improve visibility.
  7. Replace your windshields once every year. Look for high-quality wiper blades that offer durability and performance. Flexible and silicon wiper blades are of the premium quality and they are an excellent choice in bad weather conditions like rain, snow, fog and more.
  8. Ensure that the headlights work properly. Check them regularly for brightness. You can also replace the regular bulbs in them with high-quality bulbs.
  9. Always clean your headlights before you take your vehicle for a night drive.
  10. If it is raining heavily, never use high beam headlights. Instead, use low-beam as it helps give better visibility.
  11. The rear and side view mirrors hold great importance while driving on the road. On the rear view, set the day and night switch properly if you plan to go for a night drive.
  12. While driving through foggy conditions, the first thing to remember is to turn on the fog lights. They have a yellow light that helps to cut through the fog for better visibility.
  13. Always pump the brakes before you enter a thick fog cloud where you are not sure of what lies ahead. This will alert any vehicle that is trailing your car and you save yourself from getting hit from behind at any instance.
  14. In case, the tires get stuck in the snow, use sand to get the traction. If you are out of ways, use the floor mats of your car to gain traction by placing them under tires.
  15. If you find your car getting buried in the snow, first check for the exhaust pipe. Make sure it doesn’t get deep in the snow or even better expose it off. If it gets blocked, it can prove dangerous by sending carbon monoxide in the car.
  16. Have your car serviced and checked properly if you live in a cold region. Especially winter grade fluids can come handy that prevent freezing.
  17. Last but not the least; keep an emergency kit in your car. It must include some essentials like a blanket, shovel, towing rope, air compressor, duct tape etc in a case of emergency situations.

We hope our driving safety tips along with necessary precautions will help prepare you for a great drive. While natural calamities might come unannounced,  we must always be prepared in advance.

A handful of tips coupled with cautions can really work a great deal to make our drive weatherproof. We hope you always drive safe despite any weather!

Ketan Raval

“My first interaction with technology made me believe that it’s magic.”